Is a Microsoft Smartphone The New Center of Your Digital Universe?

There's been more than enough drama this week with talk of cuts of the Zune team after missing holiday sales numbers.  Then there's the aspect of some type of major upgrade to the next version of the Zune.  Finally, there's a curious patent filed by the folks out at Redmond.

While the patent is not clearly for the Zune, it is certainly plausible that such a device could figure into the plans of the next version of the Zune (or maybe one or two beyond that at the rate that things go out there).  It comes down to the concept of what a PC is.  For many users, they only use a small percentage of what their computer can do in terms of processing power.  On top of that, the web has assumed greater importance as many tasks can be done relying more on bandwidth than on desktop computing power, such as image editing, and even video editing, not to mention web based document creation.  While I have two computers with dualcore processors, I get along fine on the road with a single core notebook (Athlon XP-M 2200+) so a powerful smartphone just might be able to get the job done for many users willing to trade portability for power.

Here's the concept based on the patent that Microsoft proposed.  It is based upon a "smart interface system," that consists of a docking station with ports for Ethernet, USB peripherals including an external hard drive and an external display.  The idea is that you could attach a keyboard and mouse to the portable device making it feel more like a full fledged computer.  I could certainly envision this working, and it could bridge the gap (assuming there is one that needs to be filled) from current cellphones to the step up to netbooks.  Think of it as the notebook docking station taken a step further, and allowing a smartphone to perform a wider set of tasks usually associated with a desktop computer.

Is this the concept of the next Zune?  Or will it be just " Zune like?"  Will surfing the net with a squircle be in the cards soon?  Could this be a device to take on the iTouch/iPhone?  It may be a l-o-n-g time before we get a clearer picture of this roadmap, but it is intriguing nonetheless.